NEWBERRY, SC– The University of Mount Olive men's wrestling program dropped a tightly contested 25-23 decision to Newberry on Tuesday evening in non-conference action at Newberry.
The dual came down to the final bouts, with Mount Olive earning key bonus-point victories in the upper weights, but Newberry held on to secure the two-point win.
Newberry opened the dual with back-to-back victories at 125 and 133 to take an early lead. Mount Olive responded at 141 pounds as
Benjamin Hernandez recorded a fall to put the Trojans on the board, followed by a sudden-victory decision from
Hunter Newell at 149 to close the gap.
Momentum continued to swing in Mount Olive's favor at 157 pounds when
Brent Nicolosi delivered a technical fall to give the Trojans the lead. Newberry answered with consecutive wins at 165, 174, and 184 to regain control of the dual heading into the final two bouts.
Mount Olive made a late push as
Raife Smart posted a technical fall at 197 pounds before heavyweight
John Domencic earned a major decision in the final bout. Despite the late surge, the Trojans fell just short as Newberry claimed the 25-23 victory.
Mount Olive 23 vs. Newberry 25
- 125: Ricky Springs (Newberry) def. Zach Bellissimo (Mount Olive), MD 8-0
- 133: Caiden Pelc (Newberry) pinned Brock Christian (Mount Olive), 5:50
- 141: Benjamin Hernandez (Mount Olive) pinned Cole McCullough (Newberry), 4:36
- 149: Hunter Newell (Mount Olive) def. Sebastian Melendez (Newberry), SV-1, 7-4
- 157: Brent Nicolosi (Mount Olive) def. Bashir Rostami (Newberry), TF 23-5 (5:52)
- 165: Bo Perkins (Newberry) def. Christian Orozco (Mount Olive), TF 18-3 (7:00)
- 174: Josh Echeverria (Newberry) def. Cameron Hunt (Mount Olive), MD 17-5
- 184: John Parker-Wilson (Newberry) pinned Wyatt Goff (Mount Olive), 3:41
- 197: Raife Smart (Mount Olive) def. Benjamin Valdes (Newberry), TF 18-3 (6:35)
- 285: John Domencic (Mount Olive) def. Chance Jackson (Newberry), MD 19-6
